Alexander's letter to Darius

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Anabasis_of_Alexander

It has chapters very neatly arranged, which can be accessed individually. The one on the current topic is

Originally posted by: sashashyam

My dear Inlieu,

This is very interesting, and I have read the full article. It is rather skimpy in places, as is only natural when trying to compress Alexander the Great's life into a few pages, but is a very good effort. It is also accurate as far as the contents of Alexander's letter to Darius was concerned.

What I liked the best was the part about Alexander preserving the culture and way of life in the territories he conquered. But in this show, which has suppressed the great Aristotle altogether, one cannot expect to see anything dealing with Alexander's breadth of mind and readiness to be inclusive and tolerant, now can we?

Alexander's education and the Bucephalus taming are the two big misses as far as I'm concerned - these shaped Alexander as he grew older. I understand the makers didn't want to invest in that but just a passing mention of the taming or even quick flashbacks of him taking lessons from Aristotle would do. It's not too late! Hint, hint. 😉

They showed Alexander reading out bits from the Illiad to Hephaestion - I am trying to convince myself that this was a nod to the fact that Alexander always carried with him a copy that was supposed to have been annotated by Aristotle. It would have cost them nothing to mention this scholar at least in passing if not a scene!! The foundations he helped lay in Alexander and Hephaestion changed world history!!!! 😡 The number of times they've said Zeus ka beta, they could have just once said Aristotle ka shaagird Rather, they prefer to show him.

What we did get that was that horrible looking acolyte of the High Priestess, who forgot all about what her boss lady had done to instigate Alexander to get rid of Philip, and was now screeching at Puru that Alexander wanted to destroy everything in Bharat. I would have liked to have used Silencio! on her, the wretched, multicoloured female!😡

On top of that, she was pleading with Puru to put Alexander to death. Since when do priests and priestesses ask for vengeance? She said there would be rivers of blood but what about the fight between Paurav Rashtra and Taxila before Puru was born? There was so much death and destruction in that battle too. For all intents and purpose they killed Puru too when he was newborn (it's a different matter that he survived, but it doesn't make Shivdutt and his companions any less guilty of murder, especially considering they were related by blood). In general, though, fighting is part of war and the death of soldiers, though tragic, is an accepted and expected aspect of wars. A conquerer does not necessarily become evil incarnate when his army kill enemy soldiers in battle. It's about survival.

Why make it seem like Alexander is a mindless slaughterer when he isn't? He did not kill innocent people in Persia. In fact, Darius' escape sped up Alexander's victory as the Persian troops no longer continued to fight and gave in. His act in Thebes was a exceptional and regretted it so much later that he showed far more mercy in future conquest, such as we see in Persia. The makers have also conveniently skipped the conquests of Egypt where they pretty much welcomed him with open arms and it was pretty peaceful. He was also given the status of god without having to murder innocents. But of course, these important events have been skipped.

Alexander was really taken with Persian culture and way of life, but this led to differences with his Macedonian commanders, who did not like this dilution of their way of life, nor did they like Alexander adopting Persian mores. When he wanted them to do the traditional Persian pair poshi to him, there was a wave of resistance, and he had to abandon the idea!😉

Now as for the letter from Alexander to Darius, yes, it was good that the CVs stuck to history for this part at least, as they have done for a few others. But as you have a genuine interest in history, and a passion for detail, I would suggest that you read Arrian's

THE

ANABASIS OF ALEXANDER;

OR,

The History of the Wars and Conquests of Alexander the Great.

as translated by E.J.Chinnock. It can be accessed in full at

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Anabasis_of_Alexander

Thanks! I actually downloaded this a few days ago as a pdf to read. There's also a pretty interesting chapter on Alexander in Twelve Against the Gods, which talks about his incessant need to conquer and push himself further every time.

It has chapters very neatly arranged, which can be accessed individually. The one on the current topic is

XIV. Darius's Letter, and Alexander's Reply : 111 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

111

and there is two others

XII. Kind Treatment of Darius's Family: 104 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

104

XXVI. Alexander's Magnanimous Conduct . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

358

which are worth immediate reading. Chapter XIV contains far more detail than the livescience article.

There is also in Chapter XII a passage that will fascinate you,about a topic we have discussed earlier, ie what Alexander did with his soldiers after a battle, of course a victory. Here it is, for ready reading:

The next day, Alexander, though suffering from a wound which he had received in the thigh from a sword*, visited the wounded, and having collected the bodies of the slain, he gave them a splendid burial with all his forces most brilliantly marshalled in order of battle. He also spoke with eulogy to those whom he himself had recognised performing any gallant deed in the battle, and also to those whose exploits he had learnt by report fully corroborated. He likewise honoured each of them individually with a gift of money in proportion to his desert.^[1]

*Not,as you would note, from Darius' arrow!

See what an excellent commander he was! No wonder his soldiers were ready to follow him to thje ends of the earth without question, at least till the strain became too great for them to bear.

They really were ready to follow him to the ends of the earth! Some sources say that the initial driver for Alexander was to conquer Persia, the biggest empire then as it would give him limitless glory and surpass his father's legacy. He'd sold it to his army as taking revenge for Persian invasion and ravaging of Greek lands so once this was achieved, the army felt they had accomplished what they needed to.

Going further through the Hindu Kush and eventually India was part of Alexander's desire for personal glory and immortality in history, but in between he lost sight of the fact that his soliders were human beings whose bodies and couldn't be pushed further. They became disillusioned and battle-weary and as a great general, he took pains to understand their concerns when they wanted to return home. It was the end of his dream because he couldn't go all the way to India, but he cared enough about his people to stop at this point.

Skeptics would say it's because he was afraid of mutiny, but I believe that he was such a brilliant commander that he would have found a way to rally them to go further and continue to win, either by recruiting fresh troops or through some other wonderful strategy. But he was a true leader who fought at the battlefront and was with his soliders in the good times and bad.

What a fascinating person! In case it isn't obvious, he's one of my idols and to me his life is a great source of inspiration. He sacrificed comfort and longevity for eternal glory and if I were in his place, I probably would have it no other way. In a way, it is fitting that his life and death were like the famous Greek tragedies that he grew up learning about. The fact that we have the privilege of watching someone like Rohit bring him to life in such a spectacular fashion, despite not having much screen time, is cherry on the icing! 😃

Also, what is very interesting that if Darius had acknowledged him as the King of all of Asia, Alexander was ready to let his family go.

Well, looking at the current state of affairs on the show, the royal ladies are in better hands now that they would be in Bactria or even in India where the royal family is a mess.

Arrian is quite reliable,and he quotes copiously from earlier writers, including Greek contemporary writers.

Shyamala Aunty